The concept of co-working provides workspace in an open room without private offices, to encourage collaboration and community. The White Board’s co-working environment is designed to offer an alternative to the seclusion and distractions of working at home or a coffee shop.

Located in Gilman Village above The Flat Iron Grill, in Suite 29, White Board features 1,700 square feet of space with an open area for private desks and tables, and another area for casual seating for meetings and conversation.

Gilman Village slips in and out of style in much the same manner as fashion.

Just as leggings and off-the-shoulder tops re-emerged from some Reagan-era style sepulcher in recent seasons, a similar cycle is redirecting attention to Gilman Village. The landmark shopping center is in — and in the midst of a renaissance, as a Thursday farmers market and upstart businesses prompt neophytes to discover a classic Issaquah locale.

The credit for the latest revival is due, in part at least, to The Flat Iron Grill, a destination restaurant and a solid reason to explore beyond the periphery at Gilman Village.

The restaurant opened in the former Iris Grill space 18 months ago and, soon after, started to generate complimentary chatter among the local fooderati.

If you asked LeRoy LaCelle four years ago whether his photographs would provide soothing images to patients at a clinic or a new hospital, he’d probably ask: “What photographs?”

LeRoy CaCelle

Now LaCelle, a retired industrial designer, has made a name for himself as one of the premier nature photographers on the Eastside. He has four photos on display at Swedish’s clinic in Redmond. He has made an Issaquah restaurant into his own gallery. And five images have been chosen for the new Swedish hospital, which opens in the Issaquah Highlands in July.

And it’s all because he got bored one day and started playing with a camera.

“I showed some pictures to some people and they said, ‘You should do something with this,’” said LaCelle, who retired in 2003. “My first venture was the Issaquah Farmers Market.”

When LaCelle opened his booth at the market he was an immediate hit. His work caught the eye of clients like Sean Quinn, owner of The Flat Iron Grill in Issaquah.

“I only have so many walls,” Quinn said. “He keeps going out there and he knows what I want. Eventually, I’m going to run out of wall space for him.”

The inaugural dine-out event kicked off March 1, as more than 20 restaurants rolled out discounts and other treats for diners. Organizers said the monthlong celebration is meant to attract attention to local restaurants, and encourage residents to try fresh flavors.

The participating restaurants include longtime establishments and newcomers. Diners interested in checking out Issaquah restaurants during the event can nosh on barbecue and pizza one day, and nachos and lo mein the next.

“Each restaurant will offer a lunch and/or dinner prix fixe menu that represents the best of what that restaurant has to offer,” Diane Symms, Lombardi’s Italian Restaurants president and CEO, said in a release. “This is not a discount but rather an offer of quality and value for the community.”

Issaquah Restaurant Month is similar to events staged in Seattle and other major cities nationwide. The year-old Issaquah Restaurant Coalition, a trade group, coordinated and promoted the celebration.

Issaquah chefs turn local trout into gourmet creations

Christopher Brown, executive chef at sip. at the wine bar and restaurant, sprinkles the final touches onto his grilled trout with brown-buttered leeks. By Greg Farrar

Sunshine, swimming at local lakeside beaches and dropping your line in the water for a leisurely afternoon of fishing is part of what summer is all about.

Whether you’re a fishing pro, a novice or beginner, the fish can start piling up faster than you can eat them. While plentiful and tasty, more often than not, trout can leave home cooks confounded for ways to prepare it.

So, we’ve asked for help from our local palate perfectionists — chefs from some of Issaquah’s most well-known restaurants.

Each restaurant’s chef was asked to submit his favorite or a creative way to prepare trout, so your culinary know-how can move from butter, salt and pepper into gourmet-inspired creations that will be anything but boring.

As the days get longer, it’s time to shape up, so on May 12 you’ll want to sprint to the Women Spring into Summer! event sponsored by Evergreen Ford of Issaquah.

“It’s going to be a really fun event with lots of great things to do,” organizer Lynn Rehn said.

“We’re really excited about any event that promotes local businesses,” Issaquah Chamber of Commerce CEO Matthew Bott said. “This event is really helping consumers rediscover some of the great businesses that we have here in Issaquah.”

Massages, nights out on the town with dinner, pedicures, drinks and cocktails — 60 Issaquah businesses are pulling out the stops to entertain the women who come to the event, Rehn said.

As the days get longer, it’s time to shape up, so on Wednesday, you’ll want to sprint to the free Women Spring into Summer! event sponsored by Evergreen Ford of Issaquah.

“It’s going to be a really fun event with lots of great things to do,” organizer Lynn Rehn said.

“We’re really excited about any event that promotes local businesses,” Issaquah Chamber of Commerce CEO Matt Bott said. “This event is really helping consumers rediscover some of the great businesses that we have here in Issaquah.”

Massages, nights out on the town with dinner, pedicures, drinks and cocktails — 60 Issaquah businesses are pulling out the stops to entertain the women who come to the event, Rehn said.

Sean Quinn, raised in Boston (which explains the Red Sox cap and Absolut Boston vodka bottle) sits in the Flat Iron Grill restaurant he and wife Barbara Paxa have opened in Gilman Village. By Greg Farrar

It’s been a long haul for some businesses in Gilman Village amid the clutch of an economic recession. Tried and true spots, like restaurant Sweet Addition, have left and other new ones have come and gone so quickly you can’t remember the names.

Yet, the quaint village remains a place where dreams are started.

Scrubbing and cleaning, painting and decorating — that’s the tough part for Snoqualmie resident and regionally renowned chef Sean Quinn.

“She’s doing the painting,” he said about his wife and co-owner Barb Paxa. “That’s her job and we’re getting there.”

By far, Quinn said he prefers being elbow deep in ingredients and manning the grill to create delectable dishes — it’s what he’s been doing for the past 26 years.

The couple opened The Flat Iron Grill, 317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., on Feb. 10, at the village’s heart, with a mission to bring adventurous twists to Northwest cuisine. Read more